FitzGerald, Neuhardt blast Kasich's record

DAYTON - Facing a friendly hometown audience, Sharen Neuhardt felt compelled yesterday to set the record straight about why Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald selected her as his running mate.

Joe Hallett, The Columbus Dispatch

DAYTON — Facing a friendly hometown audience, Sharen Neuhardt felt compelled yesterday to set the record straight about why Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald selected her as his running mate.

“John Kasich and a lot of his Republicans ... say that Ed picked me basically because I have ovaries. You and I both know that’s not the case. Ed FitzGerald picked me because I have a brain."

And with that, the 62-year-old lawyer and FitzGerald launched an assault on the Republican governor’s record, charging that he has been bad for the economy, bad for the middle class and good for the rich and connected.

In their first appearance as headliners on a statewide Democratic ticket likely to feature three women and three men, FitzGerald and Neuhardt sought a fresh start after his first choice for a running mate, state Sen. Eric Kearney of Cincinnati, quit the ticket following revelations of massive tax debts.

That botched first rollout, contended Chris Schrimpf, spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party, is behind a new strategy by Democrats to portray Kasich as waging a war on women.

Calling Neuhardt a “two-time loser” because she was defeated badly in past campaigns for Congress, Schrimpf said FitzGerald and his running mate “are going this route now because their campaign has gained no traction and they’re looking for any way to get on track, even if that means pitting Ohioans against each other.”

But Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democrat who called Neuhardt “a dear friend,” praised her addition to the ticket, saying she provides gender and geographical balance for FitzGerald, the executive of Cuyahoga County.

“Women’s health issues are a big deal, and Sharen gets that the inequalities in the budget don’t make any sense,” Whaley said.

She was referring to the two-year state budget Kasich signed last year that contained five provisions viewed as restricting women’s access to legal abortions, including one requiring a doctor to perform an ultrasound and inform the woman about fetal viability before performing an abortion.

Neuhardt, a former board member of Planned Parenthood, castigated GOP lawmakers for “trying to cut off funding” to the organization and accused them of “trying to relegate women to second-class citizens.”

She added, “I’m happy to be a champion for women’s rights. Women in this state have brains and they have a memory — and we vote. Memo to John Kasich: You’re going to be really sorry that you messed with women come November.”

FitzGerald, meanwhile, blistered Kasich as a governor whose policies are targeted to help big businesses and the wealthy. Saying he has listened to Ohioans while campaigning in all 88 counties, FitzGerald said, “there are a lot of people that are really struggling to make it. This is what Sharen and I understand. We have a governor who doesn’t represent them. He represents a very small group of people.”

After the speech to about 150 at the Dayton Cultural & RTA Transit Center, FitzGerald said he has had no recent conversations with Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune or former U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich of Cleveland, both of whom are looking at the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

“I’ve known Dennis Kucinich for more than 20 years, and I gave up trying to predict what he’s going to do a long time ago,” FitzGerald said. “I’m really focusing on Gov. Kasich.”